Glad to see them add a FB. Hopefully he can be close to what Sledge was.

Rumor has it that the FO will be meeting with Suh's agent next week at the owners meeting. Anyone care to take a guess at what the results will be, what kind of cap relief we'll get and how we could spend it?

March 19th, 2014, 2:59 pm

inheritedlionsfan

Team MVP

Joined: January 13th, 2006, 4:18 amPosts: 3461Location: Maryland

Re: Free Agent Acquisitions

Pablo wrote:

I'd be curious to see where a 6'4", 214-lb QB who threw for over 9,000 yards in college with a 77-15 TD-to-INT ratio falls in the draft. He also wasn't afraid to throw at the combine like most of the top rated QBs. He lost a total of four games in college, all to top 15 teams playing in a pro-style offense. Oh yeah, he also guided his team to two national championships!

I'm thinking someone will take him in the third round

March 19th, 2014, 6:28 pm

sweetd20

Pro Bowl Player

Joined: October 13th, 2005, 9:03 amPosts: 2451

Re: Free Agent Acquisitions

Yeah McCarron has looked too good to slip to the 4th round where I was hoping the Lions could take him. At this point I'm not a fan of the FA market at QB and the draft class isn't wowing me from pretty much top to bottom. With McCarron's stock probably too high for the Lions I'm leaning towards Kenny Guiton as a developmental prospect as an UDFA or 7th round pick.

March 19th, 2014, 7:33 pm

Killwill25

Rookie Player of the Year

Joined: March 5th, 2009, 8:42 pmPosts: 2358Location: Brooklyn, NY

Re: Free Agent Acquisitions

Kenny Guiton is an interesting pick

_________________76 days

March 19th, 2014, 8:20 pm

Pablo

RIP Killer

Joined: August 6th, 2004, 9:21 amPosts: 9645Location: Dallas

Re: Free Agent Acquisitions

Scouting Reports From ESPN:

Quote:

Jed Collins started his week thinking he'd be staying in New Orleans and by the middle of it, the now-former Saints fullback ended up in Detroit, agreeing to a one-year deal and resurrecting a position that had not been with the Lions for a couple of years.

He ended up being an unsurprising choice in many ways once he became available, mostly because he has familiarity with every coach that will work with him -- including offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi -- and fullbacks can be difficult to find in the NFL.

So what, exactly, does Collins do? Mike Triplett, who covers the New Orleans Saints for ESPN.com, broke down Collins' game in this scouting report.

"Collins has been a nice fit in New Orleans for the last three years -- as I'm sure Lions OC Joe Lombardi knows well," Triplett wrote. "Obviously the fullback position doesn't play a big role in New Orleans' pass-heavy offense. Collins played 39 percent of the Saints' offensive snaps last year. But he's been solid as both a lead blocker and an occasional receiver out of the backfield or short-yardage runner on 'belly' handoffs.

"The Saints' entire run game struggled during the first half of last season. But I thought Collins played very well as they improved during the second half of the year. I was surprised the Saints decided to make a switch to a similarly-rated player in Erik Lorig.

"Collins' backstory is really neat. He bounced around with seven different teams from 2008-2010 before finding a home in New Orleans."

If you're curious, Collins' full name is Jedidiah Gabriel Collins and he is from San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

Quote:

The signing is not as high-profile as Golden Tate and is not expected to make anywhere near the same impact, either, but the Detroit Lions attempted to fill a need Thursday when the team signed Darryl Tapp from Washington.

Much like we did with Tate in this space on Thursday, I caught up with my colleague in Washington, John Keim, to get a feeling of what the Lions might be getting with the 29-year-old, who will turn 30 during the 2014 season.

"Darryl Tapp had to learn a new position last season and there’s no way to do that in just one season. He’d been mostly a backup defensive end prior to joining the Redskins, who moved him to an outside linebacker’s role," Keim wrote. "But he was never going to be anything other than a spot player in Washington with Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan on the outside. They hoped he could provide some pass-rush help in certain packages, but that never really materialized.

"But Tapp showed that he was strong at the point of attack out of a two-point stance and when he did get pressure it stemmed from that strength, especially in his lower body as he played with good leverage. He worked well against tight ends in the run game.

"The Redskins were content to let him go, however, and they’re still looking for pass-rush help. They also have a young outside linebacker in Brandon Jennings and would like to add more young players who can help on special teams. They’re also keeping an eye on former backup Rob Jackson, an unrestricted free agent who hasn’t gotten much of a sniff thus far. But there’s a chance he and Jenkins could be the backups next season, making Tapp expendable.”

Tapp had 10 tackles and a sack last season. His best season was in 2008, when he had 54 tackles and 5.5 sacks. He probably isn't a suitable replacement for Willie Young, but the Lions are probably expecting Jason Jones or Devin Taylor to fill that role in 2014.

Quote:

It took a day, but the Detroit Lions nabbed one of their top priority free agents and solved a major need at the same time.

Detroit signed Golden Tate to a five-year deal Wednesday afternoon, immediately giving the Lions a sure-handed No. 2 receiver to balance Calvin Johnson and the jolt the team might need to free Johnson up from double and triple teams.

But what did Detroit really get? To find out, I reached out to my colleague who covers Seattle, Terry Blount, for a quick scouting report on Tate. Here are some of this thoughts.

"He has exceptional hands and will make the tough catch. Rarely drops a pass. He is a much better blocker than most people would expect for a man his size and he isn’t shy about taking on much bigger players, like outside linebackers," Blount wrote. "He’s not a burner, but he can beat his man deep and he is excellent and gaining separation and making yards after the catch, which may be his biggest asset.

"He blossomed in 2013 as the team’s punt returner, but he is a risk taker. He fielded balls several times inside the 10, and usually, made it work.

"Maybe most importantly, he grew up in 2013 after the taunting incident in the St. Louis game. It was a real turning point in him as an individual and led to him becoming a true team leader."

So that's a start to give you an idea of what the Lions are receiving with their first major free agent haul of the year.

Detroit Lions might have competition after all for Ravens safety James IhedigboThe Detroit Lions' best chance at adding a starting-caliber safety is James Ihedigbo. He's one of the two best players remaining in an otherwise vanquished safety market, and he visited town last week.

He left without a deal, but said he expected one to come together once he hired an agent.

He's hired an agent. Still no deal.

And now it appears his old club is in play.

The Ravens allowed Ihedigbo, a strong safety, to reach free agency because they wanted Matt Elam to slide into that position. But they've "maintained interest" with Ihedigbo throughout the process, according to the Baltimore Sun, and could still make a play for him now that they've struck out on other fronts.

Ihedigbo is coming off a career season in which he had 101 tackles, 11 pass defenses and three interceptions. He started all 16 games.

New Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, who was the Ravens' defensive backs coach the past three years, raved about Ihedigbo's abilities and leadership earlier this offseason.

"He would take one of the younger safeties and say, 'Hey, listen, here's how things are done. Here's how we do it. This is right, this is wrong,' and we tried to mentor our guys that way,'" Austin said. "That helps develop leadership within the room. And then once you get it within the room, the guys who have the strongest personality or best leadership qualities, they'll kind of start taking over that way."

The Lions cut starting safety Louis Delmas, but have struggled to replace him in free agency. If they miss out on Ihedigbo, the best remaining target will be Miami's Chris Clemons.

If they miss on both guys, Detroit will have to move to Plan B for filling the position. That could include selecting one high in May's draft.

I still feel Clemons is a better fit with Austin wanting more big plays and turnovers from the Lion's defense. I also have to believe as much as they are trying to down play it and saying it has no bearing on FA, that Suh not being extended is holding them back from shoring up the S position. No matter which player they bring in I'd like to see a Day 3 S like Boston or Ladler. I also like Deone Bucannon but he's likely a Day 2 guy that would be taken too high with their second rounder and a better player at another position of need might be available at their 3rd round pick if he were still on the board.

It's too bad LB is so weak this year in FA because the Lion's LBs are one the reasons the secondary has looked so bad. Levy had some big plays in a handful of games and that's what most people have embedded in their head from last season, but overall he was average at best. Tulloch needs to get in better shape and when not sneaking in behind the big DTs he was washed out on run plays and outmatched when dropping into coverage. Palmer in no way shape or form should be considered as a starter on a team competing for a championship. Between this year's draft and next year's free agency and draft the Lions are going to need to improve at least one starter if not two and get at least two upgrades at the backup spots.

March 21st, 2014, 10:49 am

thelomasbrowns

Pro Bowl Player

Joined: August 24th, 2010, 9:54 pmPosts: 2539

Re: Free Agent Acquisitions

Pablo wrote:

This has been a rather strange one...

Quote:

Detroit Lions might have competition after all for Ravens safety James IhedigboThe Detroit Lions' best chance at adding a starting-caliber safety is James Ihedigbo. He's one of the two best players remaining in an otherwise vanquished safety market, and he visited town last week.

He left without a deal, but said he expected one to come together once he hired an agent.

He's hired an agent. Still no deal.

And now it appears his old club is in play.

The Ravens allowed Ihedigbo, a strong safety, to reach free agency because they wanted Matt Elam to slide into that position. But they've "maintained interest" with Ihedigbo throughout the process, according to the Baltimore Sun, and could still make a play for him now that they've struck out on other fronts.

Ihedigbo is coming off a career season in which he had 101 tackles, 11 pass defenses and three interceptions. He started all 16 games.

New Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, who was the Ravens' defensive backs coach the past three years, raved about Ihedigbo's abilities and leadership earlier this offseason.

"He would take one of the younger safeties and say, 'Hey, listen, here's how things are done. Here's how we do it. This is right, this is wrong,' and we tried to mentor our guys that way,'" Austin said. "That helps develop leadership within the room. And then once you get it within the room, the guys who have the strongest personality or best leadership qualities, they'll kind of start taking over that way."

The Lions cut starting safety Louis Delmas, but have struggled to replace him in free agency. If they miss out on Ihedigbo, the best remaining target will be Miami's Chris Clemons.

If they miss on both guys, Detroit will have to move to Plan B for filling the position. That could include selecting one high in May's draft.

Agreed. "I have to talk to my wife about it" is what I use to get away from a car dealership.

_________________Jim Caldwell, on whether Jim Harbaugh is stealing his thunder: "Me? I don't have any thunder."

March 21st, 2014, 2:02 pm

Boz

Varsity Captain

Joined: September 28th, 2011, 5:57 pmPosts: 325

Re: Free Agent Acquisitions

The Ravens are saying they will not match whatever the "3" unamed NFC teams are willing to offer Ihedigbo. Ihedigbo will supposedly make his decision on Monday.

The Lions were to meet with Clemons today. This per KFFL.com.

March 21st, 2014, 10:36 pm

inheritedlionsfan

Team MVP

Joined: January 13th, 2006, 4:18 amPosts: 3461Location: Maryland

Re: Free Agent Acquisitions

I think I'd prefer Clemons to Ihedigbo but he knows the defense. Either way I hope we still draft a safety that has the chance to start.

March 22nd, 2014, 12:03 am

Pablo

RIP Killer

Joined: August 6th, 2004, 9:21 amPosts: 9645Location: Dallas

Re: Free Agent Acquisitions

ESPN wrote:

Breaking down James Ihedigbo's contract

The Detroit Lions added their safety earlier this week, signing former Raven James Ihedigbo to a two-year deal.

Now the particulars have come out. The two-year deal is worth $3.15 million, with a $1.15 million cap hit in 2014 and a $2 million hit in 2015. The deal, though, could be an easily cuttable one in 2015 if the club so chooses.

In 2014, Ihedigbo will receive his full guarantee, which is a $750,000 signing bonus. Then his base salary is $725,000, and he has a $25,000 workout bonus as well.

In 2015, when his cap value is $2 million, his cash value is $1.625 million. That is broken down into a $1.1 million base salary, a $500,000 roster bonus and a $25,000 workout bonus. There are no guarantees in the contract for the 2015 season.

That has been the formula for most of Detroit's contracts this offseason: Decent-to-good signing bonuses with guarantees up front and then cuttable years on the back end of every deal lasting more than a season.

The Detroit Lions added their safety earlier this week, signing former Raven James Ihedigbo to a two-year deal.

Now the particulars have come out. The two-year deal is worth $3.15 million, with a $1.15 million cap hit in 2014 and a $2 million hit in 2015. The deal, though, could be an easily cuttable one in 2015 if the club so chooses.

In 2014, Ihedigbo will receive his full guarantee, which is a $750,000 signing bonus. Then his base salary is $725,000, and he has a $25,000 workout bonus as well.

In 2015, when his cap value is $2 million, his cash value is $1.625 million. That is broken down into a $1.1 million base salary, a $500,000 roster bonus and a $25,000 workout bonus. There are no guarantees in the contract for the 2015 season.

That has been the formula for most of Detroit's contracts this offseason: Decent-to-good signing bonuses with guarantees up front and then cuttable years on the back end of every deal lasting more than a season.

The club has reached a one-year agreement with Dan Orlovsky, Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com reported. Aaron Wilson of National Football Post first reported news of an impending deal between Detroit and Orlovsky.

The 30-year-old Orlovsky could replace the departed Shaun Hill as the Lions’ primary backup to starting quarterback Matthew Stafford. A 2005 fifth-round pick of the Lions, Orlovsky made seven starts in four seasons with Detroit (2005-2008), all in the club’s 0-16 season of 2008.

Orlovsky has spent the last two seasons with the Buccaneers, appearing in a combined three games as a reserve. He has also played for the Colts (2011) and Texans (2009-2010). Orlovsky has appeared in 24 regular season games in his career, throwing for 2,931 yards with 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.]